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What to watch for when the New England Patriots take on the Houston Texans in the AFC playoffs

Rob Gronkowski

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) catches a pass during practice at the NFL football team's facility in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013. The Patriots are scheduled to host the Houston Texans in an AFC division playoff game Sunday. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
(Photo by AP)

Slowing J.J. Watt – Contrary to popular belief, the New
England Patriots didn't stop the Houston defensive end in the last meeting.
Despite failing to record any meaningful stats, he still hit Tom Brady five
times. When dealing with a player of Watt's caliber, that can be considered a
success, and New England will need a repeat performance this week.

The Patriots often double-teamed Watt on deeper passes to
give the receivers time to get open, and will likely employ a similar tactic
this week. Houston has several other players capable of making it long day for
Brady, but Watt is the biggest problem.

Rob Gronkowski's health – Will his left arm once again be
tucked to chest when he has to block? That's the big question this week. The
go-to line this week has been that half a Gronkowski is better than no
Gronkowski, which is true in passing situations where his presence alone will
help open up the rest of the field.

But that's only one aspect of Gronkowski's game. He's also
one of the better blocking tight ends in the NFL and New England could use his
abilities in that regard against Houston's defensive line. If he isn't ready to
help there, the team will have to rotate him out of the game in certain
situations and the offense will become more predictable.

Arian Foster's touches – Houston's offense starts with the running back. If
Foster is getting touches, it means the Texans are in the game and all of their
offensive weapons are working. If Foster isn't touching the ball, it means the
Texans have fallen behind and the play-action element of their attack has been
stripped away, making the offense vanilla.

The last time the Patriots played Houston, New England
jumped out to an early lead, took Foster out of the game, and ran to an easy
victory. It will be hard to replicate the circumstances this time around. But
if you aren't seeing a lot of Foster, it means the Pats are in good shape.

Wes Welker vs. Brice McCain – McCain held Welker to three catches for 52 yards during the first meeting in what was one of his first
games defending the slot. He's only gotten better since. Houston defensive
coordinator Wade Phillips told ESPN that he feels that it will once again be a
favorable matchup for his team, and that the Texans will deploy top cornerback
Johnathan Joseph on one of the tight ends or wide receiver Brandon Lloyd.

Aqib Talib vs. Andre Johnson – Talib was taken off the final
injury report, so it appears his hip is no longer an issue. It seems likely
that he'll matchup against Johnson quite often Sunday, and this will be another
big battle that the Patriots need to win.

Johnson had eight catches for 95 yards in the first game,
while no other receiver topped 40 yards. He doesn't necessarily need to be shut
down. Simply keeping him contained and not giving up any big plays may do the
trick.

Prediction -- The
Patriots have told anyone willing to listen to forget about the last game.
That's hard to do. The image of the Patriots ripping apart Houston on Monday
Night Football is still fresh in the mind, and it's hard to see the outcome
being much different this time. It may be closer, but the result will be the
same. New England 34, Houston 24.